Hostas are consistently voted the gardener's favorite perennial — their clean lines, sumptuous leaves, and elegant flowers offer great potential for striking specimen plantings and also make them the most accommodating of companion plants. The core of this encyclopedia is a fully illustrated collection of the world's finest hostas. This valuable resource provides a full description and color photograph for more than 750 plants. Informative sections on hosta classification and botany, gardening ideas, advice on pests and diseases, and a quick-reference list of the best hostas for different purposes add depth to this comprehensive review of the present-day hosta.

Most helpful customer reviews

The best book on Hosta that I have seen. I use it constantly. The layout is excellent and makes it easier to identify specific plants. If you wish to purchase a Hosta with a particular leaf pattern, you can look it up and see if it is worthwhile and the book will tell you if there is another cultivar which is even better. There are lots of photographs. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a gardening friend.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)

Amazon.com:
23 reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

The Color Encyclopedia of HostasSept. 30 2005

By
L. Michaelis
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Hardcover

This is a great book for Hosta lovers. I like the way it is organized by color. It also has great info on their growth habit (ie, whether they get to their ultimate size quickly or slowly) and how to site the yellows for maximum color by telling how they form the yellow pigmentation, which is how much chlorophyll they inhibit. I also like how they tell you what hostas are similar. As any hosta afficionado knows,there are many hostas that are similar, so if you can't get the one you want you can try to find a similar one. The pictures are good, but as with any hosta photos it is hard to tell size from a photo alone, so you will have to read the narrative. If there is one hosta book you need, I think this is the best.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

Best hosta book aroundAug. 10 2005

By
KublaiKhan
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase

This is really an amazing book--the best of the hosta books I've seen. The copyright date is more recent than some other books, so it includes newer cultivars. The photos are wonderful, too--they capture the beauty, variety and, most importantly, the colors of the plants very well; photos are even provided for some of the more distinctive blooms.

The text at the beginning of the book is also a super resource. In-depth explanations of how hostas are classified/grouped, and defintions of the parts of a hosta plant are provided. For each photo, there is a nice write-up giving all the specifics about the plant.

I would highly recommend this book--well worth the money!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

Hosta's knowing yourJuly 10 2006

By
Brenda Chauvin
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Hardcover

Wow what a book, lots of information on every hosta! Very current names of what is available. Describes growth habit, size of mound, size, shape, color of each adult leaf, size and color of each flower. And lots more. Includes hosta care, planting, dividing, disease and prevention. This will be a valuable guide for years to come. If you are planing on planting hosta's get this encyclopedia first and make the righ choice for your planting site!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

Outstanding Hosta BookJan. 3 2007

By
Richard M.
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase

I was pleasantly surprised when this book arrived. It was one book I did not have, and based on the write ups, it looked "ok". I have just about every Hosta book that is available; this one is one of the best. It is different in that it organizes its chapters on Hosta according to color (blue, green, gold, variegated, etc.). This is particularly useful when comparing Hosta to each other, or trying to identify Hosta. The photography is top notch being accurate and well laid out. Definitely a must for anyone serious about Hosta.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

Hosta encyclopediaNov. 3 2006

By
Loraine
- Published on Amazon.com

Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase

Beautiful, informational book! Chapters are sorted by hosta color, with a nice picture and description of each, also listing substitutes if you can't get that particular one, and even has special notes about each one. The index is very helpful, too. While there were a few of my hostas that weren't listed in the book, there are still hundreds and hundreds of others to learn about and drool over!